Incidentally, the attack coincided with the visit of the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, to the state Police Command at Eleweran, Abeokuta.
The robbers, who wore military camouflage uniform, attacked six banks situated on Bank Road, Agbara Estate. The men of the underworld, numbering about 40, killed a pregnant woman and a policeman when they stormed the community about 7a.m.
Several others sustained gunshot wounds.
The policeman, identified as Mr. Aliu Kodiri, attached to the United Bank for Africa (UBA), was killed by dynamite thrown at him by the robbers, when gunshot bullets could not penetrate his body.
The yet-to-be identified pregnant mother was killed by stray bullet when she went to withdraw money. Kodiri was said to have left UBA with his gun, to buy food and walked into the robbers who immediately opened fire at him. After shooting several times without success, the robbers threw dynamite at him.
According to witnesses, the robbery, which lasted for about an hour, started around 8:25a.m. They attacked six banks, among them Zenith, Guarantee Trust Bank and Diamond Bank. A private security guard, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the robbers had mixed with girls and stormed the area on Power Bikes, some in three stolen cars while the rest walked freely. According to him, when the armed men converged, they started shooting indiscriminately.
He said: “The policeman they killed and those with the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) resisted the robbers. They fought gallantly otherwise they would have gained access into all the banks.
“They only succeeded in gaining access into Zenith Bank. At GTB, the dynamite they threw at the door bounced back and exploded outside. At another bank, they went to the ATM section and shot at it many times but did not succeed in ripping it open. At UBA, they were repelled at the entrance but they robbed innocent persons who had come early to withdraw money.”
When they knew they had killed some persons, the robbers were said to be hurrying to leave but seeing that the APC had been used to block their way, they deflected its tyres with volley of shots. Another security guard at one of the banks wondered why other security agents who heard the exchange of guns refused to come to the scene promptly.
He said: “If they had complemented the efforts of the policemen at the bank or at least blocked the major road exiting from Bank Road, the robbers would have been caught.”
A resident of Agbara said he saw the robbers all dressed in military camouflage. According to him, they left through Illashe and thought they were men of the Department State Services (DSS) on patrol.
He said: “They left through the waterways at Illashe which go through Ishashi and Ayobo.” The place was later cordoned off by officials of Ogun State Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), the Agbara Police Station and Unilever police security officers.
The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr Fatai Owoseni, who spoke at the Police Command Headquarters at Ikeja, said though the incident occurred in Ogun State, the robbers accessed the community through water.
Reacting to the incident, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the robbers only attacked the Zenith Bank branch at Agbara. Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the suspects made away with the cash found on the counter. He said: “We learnt about 40 armed robbers invaded Agbara area around 8:30am.
They attacked the bank and it was painful that one of the policemen at the Zenith Bank was killed by the robbers. “Our men engaged them with Armoured Personnel Carrier.
But the robbers later escaped through the waterways in one of the villages in the area. Some of them sustained injuries from the firepower of our policemen.” The PPRO urged members of the public who come across anyone with bullet wounds to immediately contact the police.http://newtelegraphonline.com/robbers-attack-banks-kill-pregnant-woman-policeman/
No comments:
Post a Comment